This disclosure relates to the field of various infant warming devices that are used to provide heat support to premature infants who cannot sustain their own body temperature. In the treatment of infants, and particularly those born prematurely, it is necessary to provide heat to the infant during the care and treatment of the infant and to minimize heat loss from the infant's body. An apparatus for providing such heat will be referred to in this disclosure as an infant warming device. In general such an apparatus comprises a flat planar surface on which the infant rests while various procedures are carried out. There are normally protective guards that surround the infant and some type of overhead heater directing radiant energy toward the infant. It should be understood that these infant warming devices might have other descriptive names, such as, for example, an infant care device, or an infant care center, patient care center, an infant incubator, or a combination device, and this disclosure anticipates any of those other names. This disclosure will use the term infant warming device.
Above and beyond these basic functions of an infant warming device there are many other functions that can be useful for infant care. This disclosure will describe one of those.
Infant Warming devices currently only have integrated fixed lens cameras. The use of a fixed lens limits where the center of interest is on the video and the display. In infant care there are frequently situations in which caregivers are extremely interested in viewing a localized area on the infant bed or mattress. The use of a moveable integrated camera would allow the clinician to select the region of interest for viewing and playback and to control the focus.
There is a need then for a system that enables the caregiver to move and focus the camera.
There are many reasons it would be valuable to have a video camera and the ability to display, record and playback the image videoed. It would be a great teaching and learning tool for caregivers in how to perform procedures on patients. Reviewing real experiences of a code or infant resuscitation could benefit care quality with staff learning from their own or others good and bad performance.
The recorded record could be used to defend the actions of caregivers in litigation cases. It could be used to record messages for playback to communicate between staff or staff and parents. It could be used to allow distant parents or other patient relatives to view the patient infant from a long distance through the Internet. It could be used to record infant motion over a long time and then play back at high speed looking for seizure episodes. It would even be possible to add the ability to have the machine scan the recording looking for motion that is indicative of seizure episodes based upon appropriate algorithms. It would allow remote viewing of the patient by remote caregivers who could prompt caregivers attending the patient in real time. It could allow caregivers to view the patient during crowded rounds by displaying the video feed remotely or on the infant care device display.